Table of Contents
Exactly how jEdit is started depends on the operating system. For example, on Unix you can run “jedit” at the command line, or select jEdit from a menu; on Windows, you can double-click on the jEdit icon or select it from the menu.
If jEdit is started while another copy is already running, control is transferred to the running copy, and a second instance is not loaded. This saves time and memory if jEdit is started multiple times. Communication between instances of jEdit is implemented using TCP/IP sockets; the initial instance is known as the server, and subsequent invocations are clients.
If you find yourself launching and exiting jEdit a lot, the startup
time can get a bit bothersome. If the -background
command line switch is specified, jEdit will continue running and waiting
for client requests even after all editor windows are closed. When run in
background mode, you can open and close jEdit any number of times, only
having to wait for it to start the first time. The downside of this is
increased memory usage.
When running on MacOS X, the -background
command-line switch is active by default, so that jEdit conforms to the
platform convention that programs should stay open until the
command is explicitly invoked by the user,
even if all windows are closed. To disable background mode on MacOS X, use
the -nobackground switch.
For more information about command line switches that control the server feature, see Section 3.1, “Command Line Usage”.
jEdit remembers open buffers, views and split window configurations between editing sessions, so you can get back to work immediately after starting jEdit. This feature can be disabled in the pane of the > dialog box see Section 8.3.1, “The General Pane”.
On operating systems that support a command line, jEdit can be passed various arguments to control its behavior.
When opening files from the command line, a line number or marker to position the caret on can be specified like so:
$jedit MyApplet.java +line:10$jedit thesis.tex +marker:c
Command-line switches begin with a "-". Some take a parameter. A file whose name begins with "-" can be opened like so:
$jedit -- -myfile
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
-log= | Set the minimum log level to an integer between 1 and 9. Default is 7. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. |
-usage | Show a brief command line usage message without starting jEdit. This message is also shown if an invalid switch was specified. |
-version | Show the version number without starting jEdit. |
-nosplash | Don't show the splash screen on startup. |
-- | Specifies the end of command-line processing. Further parameters are treated as file names, even if they begin with a dash. |
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
-plugins | Enable loading of plugins. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. See Chapter 10, Installing and Using Plugins. |
-noplugins | Disable loading of plugins. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. |
-restore | Restore previously open files on startup. This is the default. This feature can also be set permanently in the pane of the > dialog box; see Section 8.3.1, “The General Pane”. |
-norestore | Do not restore previously open files on startup. |
-run= | Run the specified BeanShell script. There can only be one of these parameters on the command line. See Section 16.3, “Running Scripts from the Command Line”. |
-settings= | Store user-specific settings in the directory
named dir, instead of the
default
|
-nosettings | Start jEdit without loading user-specific settings. |
-startupscripts | Run startup scripts. This is the default. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. See Section 16.2, “Startup Scripts”. |
-nostartupscripts | Disable startup scripts. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. |
See Chapter 3, Starting jEdit for a brief description of the edit server.
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
-background | Run jEdit in background mode. In background mode, the edit server will continue listening for client connections even after all views are closed. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. |
-nobackground | Disable background mode. This is the default. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. |
-gui | Open an initial view. This is the default. Has no effect when connecting to another instance via the edit server. |
-nogui | Do not open an initial view, and instead only
open one when the first client connects. Can only be
used in combination with the
-background switch. You can
use this switch to “pre-load” jEdit when
you log in to your computer, for example. Has no
effect when connecting to another instance via the
edit server. |
-newplainview | Opens the specified files in a new plain view. For more information about views, see Section 4.2, “Multiple Views”. |
-newview | Opens the specified files in a new view. |
-reuseview | Opens the specified files in an existing view. |
-quit | Exits the currently running editor instance. |
-server | Store the server port info in the file named
server inside the settings
directory. |
-server= | Store the server port info in the file named
name. File names for this
parameter are relative to the settings
directory. |
-noserver | Do not attempt to connect to a running edit server, and do not start one either. |
-wait | Keeps the client open until the user closes the specified buffer in the server instance. Does nothing if passed to the initial jEdit instance. Use this switch if jEdit is being invoked by another program as an external editor; otherwise the client will exit immediately and the invoking program will assume you have finished editing the given file. |